It is common in written communications to use standard forms. Examples of standard forms are credit application and phone message slips. These forms allow for the collection of certain data in a structured format. This structured format simplifies the processing of the data.
In computer systems, data is often gathered and displayed through the use of electronic forms. For example, a computer program could display a form that looks similar to the paper version of a credit application form. This similarity simplifies the entry of data into the computer and subsequent display of the data.
An electronic mail system allows mail to be collected electronically through a computer terminal and transmitted to another computer or another user of the same computer and displayed on a terminal. Typical mail systems use certain standard forms. For example, the standard send message form 100 as shown in FIG. 1 has a to field 101 into which the user enters the recipient of the mail messages and a re field 102 into which the user enters the subject of the mail. The send message form 100 also has text field 103 into which the user enters the body of the message. A mail system would typically have an analogous receive message form for displaying a message.
A few mail systems have allowed the user to add custom forms. These mail systems provide only limited customization. The customization is typically limited to the use of predefined components. For example, the forms designer could specify where to place a text field or a date field. However, the mail system predefines how the fields will operate. When a user of a form presses a key or uses a mouse button to click on a component of a form, the mail system will typically take one or more actions in response to that input. The actions taken when a button field is clicked, for example, is referred to as the “behavior” of the button. Each form component in custom forms traditionally has a single behavior or a fixed number of possible predefined behaviors.
While this limited customization allows for some degree of user-customization of electronic mail forms, the user is limited to the predefined components and behaviors.